At the celebration of the Day of Miners, Metallurgists, Geologists and Petroleum Workers, which is traditionally part of the Salamander Days, last week on Friday, our colleagues received the highest departmental awards from the hands of the Minister of Economy Denisa Saková: (from left) Ľuboš Burik, Khoat Nguyen Dinh, Jozef Hribik, Peter Semanco, Štefan Suja, Vladimír Molčan, Jozef Drotár, Stanislav Švarc and Marek Blaško.

The guests were welcomed by Mayor Nadežda Babiaková: "We are meeting today in a city that is a gem not only of Slovakia. In a city whose history was written with gold, silver, iron, but above all with the courage and diligence of people who were not afraid to descend into the depths of the earth. In a city that became the cradle of mining, metallurgy, geology, where new technologies were created that changed the face of Europe."

The invitation to the ceremony was accepted by the President of the Slovak Republic, Peter Pellegrini: "Salamander Days are a celebration of Banská Štiavnica, but also of the creativity, skill and diligence of our ancestors. They are a memory of our history, of its chapters, of which we can be rightly proud. Just as they extracted its wealth from the earth, let us all try to discover what is valuable in us, in our society, in our nation. Let's use our skills for the benefit of our country and its people."

The event was also attended by other ministers of the Government of the Slovak Republic.

The ceremony was followed by a reception attended by the awarded employees with their partners, the directors of the plants where they work, general managers and vice presidents. There were congratulations, joint photos, and tears of emotion from some partners who are rightly proud of their husbands and partners.

For the first time, the Acting President of U. S. Steel Košice Mike Piekut and his wife Allison Revelo attended this ceremony and congratulated the awarded employees: "It is an honor for us to be able to symbolically pay tribute to the work done by people working in these industries in the past. You are part of this industry and continuators of its traditions. I would like to congratulate you on the award you have received today. Even though technology has been changing over the decades, working in our industry is still challenging.  You therefore deserve our thanks and recognition. Thanks also go to your family members who support you in your work."

In the evening, the historic Salamander Parade passed through the streets of the center of Banská Štiavnica, preceded by a vanguard in which representatives of the city, the generals of Slovak mining, metallurgy and geology, mining associations from Slovakia and abroad and students of technical universities walked.

Unmissable was our group from U. S. Steel Košice, who greeted hundreds of Štiavnica residents lining the road in the historic part of the city, complemented by drummers who took care of the great atmosphere and mood.

Do you want to learn more about colleagues who have won the highest departmental awards? We will gradually introduce them to you on the X App.

Photo and video: Ján Kisucký